A Night of Creation

Santa Guerrilla performs at LIKHA

By Paul Maurillo

My name is Paul Maurillo and I am a co-op student at KAPISANAN. It was my first day when I was asked to go to a fundraiser for the Carlos Bulosan Theatre called “Likha”. When I first walked into the place my expectations were obviously low considering I’m not used to this kind of venue.

Not long before I entered, there was a mass of people flowing in behind me. I assessed my surroundings and took a seat were I would not constantly be swimming in awkward introductions. I sat back and watched the various people walk in wearing interesting outfits regardless of what the dress code was, but I was not dressed any better. Many conversations were taking place that ended up gathering into one to create something too overwhelming for the human mind to comprehend, like walking into a Sony store with all the TV’s on a different channel. Despite all the goings on there was a certain easiness in the air that seemed to get thicker as time went on. Before long my anxiety was replaced by curiosity and my eyes and ears began to wander. My attention was soon embraced by the stage were my curiosity began to grow, as if I were being consumed.

It was a band in unusual garments. As my ears got fixated to the rythmic sounds all my other senses followed.
Their name was Santa Guerrilla. Before they started playing I was thinking up ways to get out of this, but now nothing else mattered. The sound of their music was unfamiliar to me yet I couldnt turn away. From start to finsh their performance captivated me, combining ancient Filipino instruments with a flow of urban ideas. I started to look forward to the next perfomances, if they were anywhere as good as Santa guerrilla it would be a night to remember. Following there performance was a spoken word debate by Len Cervantes and Myk Miranda, Gadfly Dance Company feat. Jesse Catibog, a reading of “Harana” by Regina Simon, and a reading of “Shotgun Wedding” by Len Cervantes. The crowd was thick during those earlier performances, so I couldn’t see very well, but from what I heard they were well done.

After the first acts the swarm of people began to die down a little giving me space to wander around. I found myself in front of the stage were the next act had just started to perform. They were a b.boy crew ( Bag Of Trix/Apex and Gizmo ). I was excited to see something more my taste. Their breaking was really natural and looked unrehearsed, which gave it a more “on the street” feel. The next performers were a beatbox crew called “Sick.Sound.Syndrome”. This was another one of my favorite performances of the night. The beats were hard and it really hit you with heavy bass. Then for the final performance they ended with Santa Guerrilla which I thought was great to hear them again. With that the tide of people began to die down which brought the night to a conclusion. I’m glad I decided to go to the fundraiser despite my casual attire. The whole night by far exceeded my expectation, and I know it will be hard to forget.